SHE HAS 99 NAMES: Karim Adduchi’s new woman – Text by Marcelo Horacio Maquieira Piriz

Dear Shaded Viewers & Diane,

Amsterdam’s off-schedule notoriously increases values, successfully pulling in all best fashion’s crowd. Wednesday evening was Karim Adduchi’s (Imzouren – Morocco, 1988) yearly gathering and just before dining local time. The painter, illustrator & fashion designer; orchestrated his third couture show and view on crafted gowns for a diverse audience.

The ceremony at De Duif church was adorned with the same mysticism he graduated with at the Gerrit Rietveld in 2015. Look-one was this time a vocal, Karima El Fillali, and a violin, played by Abderrahim Semlali delivering the native behind the traditional tarab music. We did not have to grab the moment in our phones and share it instantly as usual; instead, we just had to listen so deep as the church’s neo-classicist vaults.

My immediate question was: are churches the most appropriate venue to see a show demanding full observation and contemplation? Yes. For some reasons, it all worked out and the public’s behavior did match the designer’s spirit who once again has clearly moved forward into his most delicate quality: the autochthonous arts.

It all felt suitable for a story that fluctuated from the beginning till the end, passionately around nomad women in modern times; who once felt outside their country’s borders searching for a cultural exile. Folklore sometimes disagreed with liberation on the runway by clashing, but the body’s curves negotiating played an enormous role. From look-two onwards, open backs in pleated dresses showed how considerable is the torso for the designer – most embellishments were empowering the garment’s upper part (sixteen hands coming from Syria, Russia and Eritrea were in charge of manual artworks). Seduction never turned into danger, but did rush on a tiny dress with side carpet fringes imposing beauty’s erotic; all physical but far away from the obscene.

And exactly there was the haute, in the freedom and dynamic women will use to insert themselves into any social context, no matter the language or the local time.

Adduchi owns a creative soul and he brilliantly dares to play with it: the only stimulant women want to couture with.

KARIM ADDUCHI@karimadduchi.

Photos: © Team Peter Stigter

Best,

MHM.

OFICINA GABARDINE (OG)

Designer Consultancy Retail Development Media Relations Buying Adviser